Wishing You "A Ruby Christmas"

A Ruby Christmas
a collaborative novella by authors of
Write Integrity Press and Pix-N-Pens Publishing

Last month I promised you we'd do something fun and different this month--put away the "all business" on this blog (although we'll do a little business below and talk about why do a collaborative novel?). But for the most part, we'll relax a little and enjoy a special treat for Christmas.

I promised you a free sample of my fiction and free chapters from other Write Integrity Press and Pix-N-Pens authors. Here are all the details.

A Ruby Christmas is...

...a collaborative novel featuring authors from Write Integrity Press and Pix-N-Pens Publishing. Earlier this year an idea for a character and a story line was batted around. The idea had to include a character who would travel the world in search of ... something.

Each author involved, then, would write one chapter.

This year, Ruby Joy Buckner travels the world in search of all the pieces needed to put together a Nativity scene for her widowed father.

The first and last chapters are written by the same author--J. A. Marx--because (I believe) the storyline was primarily her idea. Fay Lamb co-wrote the last two chapters with J.A.

Eight of the nine authors were already published by either Write Integrity Press or Pix-N-Pens Publishing. The publishers held a contest to include one addition author, and Phee Paradise won that contest and joined us with her chapter.

Participating authors received the storyline and character information last spring and wrote their chapters. Then this summer and fall the chapters were edited together to form a book published by our infamous (to us, anyway) publisher.

Read chapters free!

Here's the fun part for you: the publisher is releasing almost all of the book - 9 of the 11 chapters - for free, one chapter at a time! Don't worry. You'll be able to get the rest of the book - the last two chapters - for free too, if you act quickly enough. I'll tell you how in a minute. Even if you miss the free days you'll be able to get the entire book for a low cost later on.

So here's how it will work:

The first chapter of the book officially releases Monday, December 2, with the first chapter being posted on the Write Integrity Press blog.

Then a new chapter will release each week day on the same blog through chapter 9.

I wrote Chapter 2, so mine will be featured Tuesday, December 3.

Here's the whole world-tour schedule:

• Monday, December 2: Texas by J.A. Marx
• Tuesday, December 3: Colorado by Dianne E. Butts
• Wednesday, December 4: Cocoa Beach, Florida, by Fay Lamb
• Thursday, December 5: Virginia by Ruth O'Neil
• Friday, December 6: New York City by Jerusha Agen
• Monday, December 9: London by Jennifer Fromke
• Tuesday, December 10: Paris by Marji Laine
• Wednesday, December 11: South Africa by Debbie Roome
• Thursday, December 12: Guatemala by Phee Paradise
• Friday, December 13: read Ruby's return home when the entire book releases on Kindle

Over on my other blog, www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com I'm going to post each day with a bit of information about the featured author, some links, and a direct link to her chapter. So please visit over there for more fun and information each day from December 1 through the 13th, and all the links.

Many of the authors are also guest posting on blogs on their featured days, so I'll include links to those articles as well, over on my Deliver Me Book blog.

Get the whole book for free

The final chapters will release with the entire book exclusively on Amazon's Kindle and will be free on Kindle from December 13 through the 16th.

After that, the book will be just $ .99 for the rest of the month.

Don't have a Kindle? No problem. You can get the free program to make your computer a Kindle reader. Here are the links to do that. The program is direct from Amazon and therefore should be safe to download:

• Free Kindle for PC download.
• Free Kindle for Mac download.

I hope you won't mind, but I just might send a mid-month post as a reminder to get the free book and to give you a link to the e-book when it's released.

Get the first collaborative novella from 2012...

This isn't the first collaborative novella Write Integrity has done. The idea debuted last year with A Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt.

I didn't take part in that project, but I enjoyed the story. It's still available and is climbing the Amazon charts again this year. So if you simply can't wait for the next chapter of A Ruby Christmas, grab that one and enjoy!

One more thing...

Get in on the Contest and Prizes!

And oh yea...did I forget to mention there's a contest for prizes? Well of course there's a contest and prizes! Something about seeing a photo that has been altered on the daily featured author's blog... Then finding the same un-altered photo on the publisher's Pinterest page... Then sending the publisher an e-mail with the differences... And you're entered in a drawing for a prize?

Gosh, you'll just have to visit www.WriteIntegrity.com for those details.

Hmmm, I wonder what the prizes are going to be...

Why do a collaborative novel?

Well of course I can't let my writing blog go without talking a bit about business. That is, after all, why this blog exists: to share what I've learned (or am learning) about publishing and to help you with your writing and publishing.

So I thought you might like to ask me, "Why do a collaborative novel?" Well I'm so glad you asked.

When I first thought about jumping on board with the project this year, I was quite intimidated by the whole thing. Build a story off of someone else's idea? Would I be able to come up with a story for my chapter?

Would my fiction-writing be up to snuff compared to the other authors who have published more fiction than I have?

You know, all the usual writer-ly insecurities.

But going on faith that I would be able to overcoming all those concerns, I started to think of the benefits to being involved.

First of all, I'd be able to offer all of you who have followed my monthly e-zine for so many years, and then this blog, something free for your enjoyment... Well that sounded like fun (and maybe a bit intimidating, too).

Then I thought about the exposure. Based on how much exposure A Christmas Tree Treasure Hunt got last year, there would be a lot of people reading my one chapter.

Add to that the fact that at the end of the book, each author gets a page for a bio, photo, and links to my other books and, well, that moved the opportunity into the "it's a no-brainer" category.

Plus, with nine authors involved, all of us working to let our readers know about the project, and it seemed like a great way to earn more readers for my other books. I will be exposed to those people the other authors get to read the book, just as I'm introducing you to the other eight authors, if you don't already know them.

The whole thing just seemed like a great opportunity. So I took the plunge.

Have you ever taken part in a collaborative novel or other project? How did it turn out for you?

Please leave a comment and let us know what you think of A Ruby Christmas. And if you feel inclined, it would be great if you'd write a short, honest review on Amazon.com also. Thank you!

Wishing you "A Ruby Christmas"

That's my way, this year, of saying Merry Christmas. I hope A Ruby Christmas helps you kick off the holiday season with many good things and mighty blessings.

Next month we'll get back to business. But until then, I pray God blesses your Christmas and New Year with reminders of Him and His love for you and yours.

Tweetables:

Discover "A Ruby Christmas." www.ButtsAboutWriting.blogspot.com @BAboutWriting @DianneEButts #WIP #PNP #ARubyChristmas  Tweet it

Read free chapters "A Ruby Christmas." www.ButtsAboutWriting.blogspot.com  @DianneEButts #WIP #PNP #ARubyChristmas  Tweet it

For more updates on A Ruby Christmas, please Like my Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/DianneButtsAuthor

Related Articles:

At www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com December 1 - 13, 2013

A Special Note

As if all this with A Ruby Christmas isn't enough... I also have a new book of my own releasing soon! Watch for Prophecies Fulfilled in the Life of Jesus, the third in my nonfiction "Prophecies Fulfilled" series. This new book should be out in December from Pix-N-Pens Publishing. Watch for it on Amazon and other outlets. Thank you!